Her costume feels heavier as she sits on her bed, making sure each piece of her equipment was up to par. That each knife was sharpened, that each microneedle was in perfect condition. She replaced the neurotoxin in them with a sleeping agent that she can press a button on her belt to wirelessly transmit the needles to slip out and inject the unwitting suspect.
And after all of that is done, she walks over to the mask sitting on her nightstand. An earpiece lies next to it, delivered to her early in the morning byway of one of Keigo's feathers with a note citing what time the raid would start. Her heart is pounding in her chest, anxiety and adrenaline starting to spike in her blood system. In her head, each thing that could go wrong flips like a slideshow behind her eyes.
Keigo could die.
We could lose.
I could die here.
But we can succeed. I know we can.
The time ticks ever closer to the reckoning that is to be upon them. She slides the earpiece off the table and places it in her ear. Already tuned to the proper channel, she can hear the beeps of people tuning in, them talking and relaying information. She almost bursts into tears hearing Fatgum and Amajiki's voice.
"Everyone get ready to start," she hears Edgeshot broadcast, hearing each and every person tune in to confirm that they heard him. The pride in her classmates swells in her chest when she hears Denki, Jirou, Yaoyorozu, Eijirou, all of her friends that she's missed so much the past few months.
"Mt. Lady, Cementoss, you're up."
The telltale rocking and crashing of the villa gives her the signal she needs, abandoning the mask on the stand as she leaves what used to be her room. Lights are flickering, the sounds of conflict obvious all around her as chaos starts. She can hear screaming, and decides that the heroes have their hands full and are capable of taking down the small fry.
I'm going after Dabi.
She starts down towards the meeting room, killer resolve steadying each step she takes. Despite the adrenaline, the anxiety, she feels giddy. A smile is stretched across her face, relief at finally being able to drop the act. Finally able to be herself again, and to show these mother fuckers who she actually is.
"Apathia, help us," one of the members of Carmine screams for her. She stops for a moment. For that moment, they think they're safe. They think that their vigilante hero will help them.
"Apathia never existed."
Their smiles fall. The next moment they blink, her scarf is binding them together. They struggle and squirm as she walks over to them, pressing the button on her feel a prick as she stares down at them. Within three heartbeats, the fight leaves their bodies.
"You can call me Empathia, and you'll do well to remember my fucking name."
"You traitorous bitch," a voice behind her snarls. She tugs on her scarf, retracting it as the members of the PLF she captured fall to the ground nearly unconscious. She turns to face Spinner, who draws one of his swords. "We trusted you. Dabi and Twice trusted you."
"Their mistake," she replies, driving herself forward off her right foot. Spinner launches himself at her in turn, swinging at her waist with his blade. She ducks down to the side, feeling the edge graze her arm. Blood trickles down her skin as she retrieves a knife from her thigh pouch.
"We took you in after those heroes rejected you."
"You didn't do shit. I put myself here."
"We gave you a place amongst us. We helped you get revenge against those that hurt you!"
She snorts, driving forward anyway as he swings at her again. This time she parries with the knife, the grinding of metal scraping her eardrums. Spinner grits his teeth as he presses down on her.
"Want me to tell you something?" she whispers to him, her voice surprisingly calm despite the situation of fighting one of the Lieutenants. "I'm the reason Stain fell that night."
"Lies! He collapsed fighting for justice against Endeavor!"
"I used my quirk on him. I gave Deku and the new Ingenium the opening they needed to drop the fucker," she tells him, her voice cracking into laughter. He drives his blade downward, breaking the parry before putting distance between them. "That man you idolize, that fucking monster was defeated by a bunch of newbie heroes."
"You bitch," he hisses. He goes to attack her again, only for her scarf to wrap around his wrists. It tightens to the point he drops the blade. Yanking him forward, Leinei drives her knee into his gut. He coughs, growling still as he struggles against her. He stops when her knife grazes his neck.
"Out of all of the villains here, Spinner, you're the most innocent," she tells him, her voice suddenly cold. "Give up quietly. Wait here for the heroes to arrest you."
"Burn in hell."
"I won't go alone."
She slams her elbow down between his shoulders, winding him enough to drop him to the ground. He wheezes, trying hard to catch his breath as she steps away from him. Retracting her scarf, she starts to walk away. Before turning a corner, she stops, looking back at Spinner.
"Don't worry, Spinner. Dabi and Compress will be joining our party soon enough."
As he yells at her, she presses onward again. She can hear how the raid is going at the forefront of everything in her ear, relieved it's going well despite her worries.
I have to find Dabi.
Her walking speeds into a run. She hasn't heard them mention his flames at the front, which means that he hasn't made an appearance there. So he has to be somewhere else. Keigo was taking care of Twice, somewhere on the upper floors. That much she knew. She trusts her brother to take care of that bastard.
Dabi's mine. He promised me that.
She gets to the stairwells, panting now as she looks around. Looking up, she catches a glimpse of Dabi's blue cloak just two flights above her. Relief floods her system.
He's mine. He's dead. I won't let him hurt anyone else I love again.
She throws her scarf upwards, winding it around one of the railings before using the tension in it to propel herself upwards. Landing in an uneven crouch on the stairs behind him, she stands. He's stopped five steps ahead of her, his hands in his pockets.
"Dabi, for your crimes against society, you are to be arrested," she says, her voice shaking now of all times. Her heart is starting to race again. Her hands and legs shake like they did that first time in the alleyway all over again.
He sighs, leaning his head back. Turning so that his front faces the rail, he looks at her. He seems more irritated than anything, but there's sadness behind his eyes too.
"Do you really expect me to go quietly?" he asks her.
"I was hoping you wouldn't," she replies, taking a step forward. "I was hoping you resist so I can bash that bastard face of yours into the concrete until no one can recognize you."
"That's funny. I thought it already was."
Before he finishes the words, he sends a stream of blue fire at her. She barely dodges it, the heat singing the hair off her arm as she drives herself up the stairs. She swipes her knife at him. He sidesteps it, throwing another wave of flames at her. She drops to all fours, the metal of her knife clashing with the concrete of the stairs.
He grins wickedly at her. The fight is exciting him, as well as pissing him off. She hates the damn smile he wears. She hates the damn glee written on his face.
"Wanna know what Reina told me before she died?" he yells at her as she rushes up the stairs. She doesn't answer him.
"She told me that I better stay away from you," he goads, taking steps up the stairs as he sends wave after wave of sapphire flames her way. It takes all she has to keep dodging him, cursing herself for not asking for flame immune cloth for her uniform. "It's funny how you just kept crawling to me after all of that. You hate me so much, but you can't stay away, Lei Lei."
"Go to hell, you son of a bitch," she yells at him, losing her footing and slamming her stomach on the step below her. It knocks the wind out of her, but she gets up anyway. It was the moment he needed to get to the next flight of stairs as a door slams open. Red feathers fill the corridor, Twice and Keigo entering the scene as Leinei rushes after Dabi.
"Bubaigawara, stand down," Keigo demands, his voice definitely more harsh than Leinei had ever heard it before. But his mere presence calms her enough as Twice rushes past Dabi, the two clapping hands. He's running straight towards her as she steadies herself, running towards him in turn.
"Hawks," she yells, the man a crimson and yellow blur as she skirts just around the duplicating villain. Dabi barely turns in time as she rushes him, getting a good swing on him and slicing his shirt. He curses and backs up, barely dodging the following strikes.
She doesn't hear Jin's dying breath. She doesn't hear Keigo's sword driving itself into his back. She doesn't hear her brother's labored breathing as he stands over the corpse of his former friend.
What she does hear is Dabi cursing the man. She sees the blue glow of his flames as they rush past her. She hears Keigo's wings as he flies forward, above the hellfire as Leinei throws her scarf forward. It wraps around Dabi's hand, directing the flames down to the concrete.
"You just follow in Big Brother's footsteps, huh, Leinei?" he snarls, glaring at the girl. She says nothing as Keigo lands next to her. Smoke is rising off Dabi's body. He's obviously overheated, buying time to save up for the next blast. "Guess you learn from the best how to fucking murder someone, huh?"
"Ignore him, Lei."
"I mean, he did learn from his old man, right, Keigo Takami?"
Keigo falters, his eyes wide. It obviously struck a chord with him. It strikes with Leinei too, who never once mentioned his name in the man's presence. She ignores him first, walking towards him. Dabi smirks to himself, before jerking his arm back. The scarf's tension drags Leinei forward, his free hand going to her neck.
"Leinei!"
She claws at Dabi's hand as he pins her back to the railing, smoke starting to rise from his hand. Keigo steps forward, only to stop as Dabi tuts.
"Come on, Takami. You already have one sister dead. Want to lose the other one too?"
"You wouldn't hurt her."
"Oh I'm pretty sure we've established that-"
Leinei's heels into his stomach cut him off. He lets go of her, staggering back as he coughs and spits up. The force of her kick sent her over the edge of the rail, Keigo flying after her and wrapping his arms around her. Blue light fills the space above him. She feels the heat before the flames hit his back.
His scream is one she'll never forget.
They're thrown to the next floor. He covers her head as they hit the concrete and roll. His injured back slams into the wall. It makes a pained wheeze leave his lungs as he slowly lets go of her.
"Are-are you okay?" he asks her, pain straining his voice.
"M'fine," she tells him, her eyes wide seeing the state he's in. He still has some of his small feathers, guessing that most of the larger ones took the brunt of the flames. Despite that, he still has proximity burns all over his lower back and legs. "Keigo-"
"Don't look at me like that, Lei Bay. You know I'd die for you."
She gets to her feet first, helping her brother next. He groans in pain, his legs threatening to give way. Just as he gets stable, they hear Dabi's crazed laughter. He's leaning over the railing on the next floor above them, one hand covering his face.
"God you two are such the happy family, it makes me fucking sick," he tells them, his voice breaking as he yells. Keigo moves Leinei behind him, wincing still at the movement. "Aw, such the great big brother. Where was that sentiment for Reina?!"
"Lei, go meet up with the raid group," he tells her. "Leave this son of a bitch to me."
"Kei-"
She can't even get it out as he takes off. He barely makes it halfway between the floors before Dabi's flames engulf him. He's shoved out of the window in the process.
"Keigo!" she screams, her voice shrill. Before she realizes, she's throwing the scarf across the gap. It wraps around the railing on that floor and she jumps off the railing in front of her. Just like before, she uses the tension to fly up to the next floor, her knife already at the ready as she leaps at Dabi. He doesn't notice her until it's too late again, letting it graze across his cheek and catch one of the staples. Behind him, Keigo's form comes from above with one of his remaining large feathers primed for the kill. Dabi sends a less powerful blast towards Leinei, letting it blow her backwards down the stairs. There's a sickening crack from her shoulder, and she gasps in pain as she rolls to a stop.
"You won't hurt anyone else in my family, villain!" Keigo yells just before Dabi steps to the side to avoid the same blade that took Jin's life. Another blast of fire slams into his back, destroying what remained of his wings before the hero lays still on the ground. Leinei forces herself to sit up, watching in horror as Dabi presses his heel into her brother's skull.
No. No no no no, I can't lose Keigo too.
"Damn, you're really fucking persistant, aren't ya, Takami?" Dabi remarks, his voice a growl as he presses the sole of his boot further into the man's head. "Just trying my last damn nerve. I'm trying to spare your sister here. She's important to me after all and I'm just such a caring guy."
"Car-caring my ass," Keigo coughs, pressing his hand into the ground as he glared up at the villain. "I did research on every single one of you in the League, y'know."
"Talking to try and save your fried ass?"
"I couldn't find shit on you," Keigo continues, trying to buy time for Leinei to run. "Not a damn thing. Makes me wonder who you are."
"Oh that's easy." Dabi crouches down, his elbows on his knees as he looks at Leinei. "All you had to do was ask your sister. She's known from day one who I am."
Dabi laughs as Leinei gets to her feet. Her left arm dangles uselessly at her side, her right hand holding what she is hoping are just bruised ribs but the shifting each time she breathes says otherwise. Her breathing is labored, the pain and strain obvious with each inhale and exhale.
"Come on, Lei. Tell him. Tell him how long you lied to him. He would have known who I am this entire time if he just got his head out of his ass and asked the one person who knew. Right? So go on, tell the great detective something you figured out with just two meetings that he couldn't deduce in six fucking months!"
"Leinei," Keigo breathes, the strain in his voice making tears water in her eyes.
"His name is To-Touya Todoroki," she says, her voice breaking as she leans on the wall behind her. "He's Endeavor's oldest son."
Dabi's howling laughter bounces off the stairs, off the walls. It surrounds them as Keigo looks at his sister with horror. After a minute, Dabi takes a breath, having gotten the laughter out of his system. He smiles before licking his lips and holding his palm out to face Keigo.
"And now you get to die knowing that. Don't worry, I'll make sure to take good care of your sister, just like I told Reina."
"Hawks!"
Dabi looks up as a black form slams him backwards up the stairs. Tokoyami is there now, sweeping his cloak off his back to cover Keigo as Dark Shadow enlarges himself as much as he can.
"Tsu..Tsukuyomi," Keigo whispers, surprised to see his mentee there. Tokoyami nods, before looking up at Leinei. His eyes widened for a moment, more surprised that Katsuki was right than to see her there. "Get-get her out of here. Leave me-"
"No. You are my teacher. I will not leave you. Salinsa, can you walk?"
"Yes," she replies, hurrying over despite the pain. As she gets to them, she takes a breath and angles her shoulder just right before slamming it into the wall twice. With a sickening crunch, her shoulder popped back into place. It tingles in a weird way that she knows she's going to regret doing that later. "What are you doing here? Keigo told me that the students were rear guard-"
"I saw the flames and Hawks," he tells her. He picks his teacher up as Dabi sends a blast of flames at them. Dark Shadow cries out, shrinking back down. "We need to go-"
The villa shakes, rubble and other things shaking loose from above. Dabi laughs, still hysterical as Tokoyami recalls Dark Shadow. Leinei makes a resolved decision.
"Get him out of here," she tells Tokoyami. "He needs medical attention. I'll hold Dabi off."
"He told me to get you out of here-"
"Tsukuyomi. Get my brother to safety. I'll meet back up with you, I swear."
Tokoyami nods, running past her down the stairs. Dabi stops as he watches them, his eyes tracing the path Tokoyami is taking with the formerly winged hero. Once they're out of his sight, the young hero using his quirk to fly out of the window to ensure his teacher lives, Dabi looks back to Leinei.
"Don't worry, Little Mouse. The next one on my list is that boyfriend of yours," he tells her. "And you're going to watch me burn him alive."
"Good luck with that, Touya," she hisses at him, using her good hand to press her earpiece. "Empathia to the vanguard. Hawks is injured. Tsukuyomi is taking him to the medical tent. I am currently engaged with the Flame Villain Dabi. Would appreciate some backup."
"Oh, sweet mouse. That was a mistake."